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Thai anti-government protesters pull barricades during a rally outside the house of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

AFP/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Thai opposition protesters on Monday stepped up their campaign to disrupt upcoming elections, with hundreds of activists blocking candidate registrations as part of efforts to banish Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her family from politics.

The main opposition Democrat Party, which has not won an elected majority in parliament in about two decades, has vowed to boycott the February 2 polls called by Yingluck following weeks of street rallies.

Nine parties managed to enter although officials were unable to fully complete their registration, Election Commission official Somchai Srisutthiyakorn said.

About two dozen parties filed complaints with the police because they were prevented from entering.

It comes as several thousand people, mostly women, gathered outside Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's suburban house amid tight security, although she was travelling outside the capital.

Ms Yingluck, who was forced to dissolve the house in December after the Democrat Party resigned en masse from parliament, is in the northeast of the country, shoring up support with the party faithful.

Instead, the self-proclaimed People's Democratic Reform Committee is calling for an unelected "people's council" to be installed to oversee sweeping reforms before new elections in a year to 18 months.

His movement was bolstered by the opposition Democrats' announcement of a poll boycott.

But the prime minister says the elections must go ahead to secure Thailand's fragile democracy.

"If we don't hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to?" Ms Yingluck said.

"If you don't accept this government, please accept the system," she said, adding elections would allow protesters to be heard at the ballot box.

Mr Thaksin is adored among rural communities and the working class, particularly in the north and northeast, but the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician is reviled by the elite, who see him as corrupt and a threat to the monarchy.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election since 2001, most recently with a landslide victory under Yingluck two years ago.

The military continues to stay out of the dispute, saying it will only intervene if chaos ensues.